


Rairyu

by bukalay



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series, Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Persona Fusion, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen, Persona 5 Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, kiss ryuji day, kissryujiday
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:40:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23305459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bukalay/pseuds/bukalay
Summary: [lit. Thunder Dragon] Ryuji and Futaba promised to meet in Sword Art Online with Ryuji going in first to scout for suitable grinding areas. However, before Futaba could get into the game, Sojiro stopped her and revealed to her the status of Sword Art Online as a Death Game. [Prologue is an entry for #kissryujiday]
Relationships: Phantom Thieves of Hearts & Shadow Operatives, Sakamoto Ryuji & Diavel (Sword Art Online), Sakamoto Ryuji & Phantom Thieves of Heart, Sakamoto Ryuji & Sakamoto Ryuji's Mother, Sakamoto Ryuji & Tsuboi Ryoutarou
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	1. IRL - 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work is inspired by the crossover between Sword Art Online and Persona 5 in Integral Factor. This is also my entry for #kissryujiday

Ren was in the middle of class when his phone rang. The ring disturbed the class that he had to excuse himself from the teacher and his classmates as soon as he saw the name of the caller.

"No matter." The teacher spoke. "You can answer the call right here, we're done for the day." He dismissed.

"Stand!" The class representative stated as the class followed the instruction.

Ren tuned out the class dismissal ritual in favor of answering his phone.

"Makoto, what's wro-"

"It's Ryuji." Makoto stated somberly. "He's trapped."

"What do you mean he's trapped?" Ren questioned in worry.

As if on cue, the phones of the entire class, even the exiting teacher's phone, rang. Ren noticed that everyone mirrored his expression of worry.

"Makoto, what going on?" Ren asked. "What happened to Ryuji?"

"He's trapped inside a virtual world." Makoto answered.

"Tell me everything later." Ren decided. "Call everyone else we'll meet at Leblanc."

"We're meeting there as we speak." Makoto informed. "Futaba and Sojiro are presently in Ryuji's apartment."

* * *

After a quick change of clothes and a quick message to his parents of his whereabouts, Ren immediately boarded a train to Shibuya, with Morgana in his bag.

"What's Ryuji done now?" The cat whined.

"I don't know." Ren answered honestly. "Considering Makoto's words and the current news, it's not something he's done." He explained. "It's someone else's deed."

Morgana decided to take a peek at Ren's phone and he read about the current Virtual Game news about 213 people being dead because of the virtual reality equipment. He remembered Ren and Ryuji's conversation about the Virtual Reality a few months and how Ryuji got enough money to purchase one.

"Maybe it's a prank." Morgana offered. "You know how of a jokester he can be."

"Maybe." Ren shook his head. "I don't think even Ryuji or Futaba would go that far for a joke." He added. "In any case, we'll know more once we arrive."

* * *

As soon as Ren arrived at Leblanc, he half-expected things to just be a prank. He really hoped that everything was just a prank just for him to ditch his hometown and visit Tokyo.

But no.

He arrived to a scene where everyone was somber. An inconsolable Futaba as Makoto and Anne tried to comfort her with Yusuke and Haru looking at their youngest member, unsure what to do.

Ren and Morgana also noticed the absence of one Ryuji Sakamoto.

Usually it was Ryuji who would console anyone in a heartbeat, would console Futaba in this situation, but he wasn't here.

"It's all my fault!" Futaba sobbed. "I-I-I-"

"Ren." Yusuke and Haru announced his arrival.

"Glad you could come on short notice." Makoto offered a sad smile.

"I came as soon as I could." Ren replied. "I've read the news." He continued. "Is it true?"

"Yes." Anne looked away from their leader. "Ryuji was even the first to exit the school as soon as it ended." She explained. "He said he and Futaba were going to play for a few hours."

Ren looked at the inconsolable Futaba.

"Boss managed to stop Futaba from playing the game." Yusuke explained. "As soon as the news broke out, he immediately left and went to his residence." He continued. "He left the café in Haru's care that was when I arrived here."

"Boss is at the hospital with Ryuji's mother." Haru informed. "He and Futaba managed to stop her from removing the Nervegear from Ryuji's head."

"Futaba-chan, it wasn't your fault." Anne comforted her. "You couldn't have known that this would happen."

"He told me that he'd go in first and scout for suitable leveling areas then we could party together." Futaba sobbed. "If that stupid teacher didn't hold us back for some stupid announcement then maybe Ryuji wouldn't be alone in there." She continued.

"No." Ren declared. "Futaba no, just no." He shook his head as he approached the youngest girl in the group. "If anything Ryuji would be happy that you didn't make it." He offered the young girl a smile and knelt before the girl. "If anything, Ryuji would beat himself up if you were caught up in there with him." He added. "So don't blame yourself."

"I agree." Morgana seconded. "As much as he annoys me, he's very selfless."

"It makes you think." Anne voiced out. "We almost lost him a bunch of times because of his selfless nature."

"I just hope he won't commit suicide in a misguided attempt to help his mother."

"What do you mean?" Ren's eyes narrowed. "I know he tries to help his mother by working part time." He added. "But he wouldn't go that far. Would he?"

"I don't know." Anne admitted. "Ryuji fell out of public favor since he punched Kamoshida." She explained. "Everyone who knew what happened despised him." She added. "His reputation really never recovered."

"He's told me about that a few times." Ren admitted. "He cooks for his mother, he puts his mother on top of his priorities and everything." He added. "I don't think he'd go that far, right?"

"Don't underestimate Ryuji's love for his mother." Anne countered. "He borrowed money from me just to buy his mother a souvenir." She shared. "Despite what others may think, Ryuji's aware of his family's finances." She added. "He buys his games and consoles with his own money."

"Considering the medical fees." Makoto hummed. "I can see how you'd come to that conclusion."

"If only we can change Akihiko Kayaba's heart." Yusuke voiced out. "Maybe we can save Ryuji and everyone else."

"Let's not dwell on that." Ren stated with finality." Let's just visit Ryuji and offer his mother some support."

Everyone nodded.

"It's unanimous then?" Morgana questioned.

"Yes."

* * *

Hearing about the number of people trapped inside Sword Art Online versus seeing the number of people admitted into one hospital for the same reason felt different. The former Phantom Thieves of Hearts can't place what they were feeling.

Even moreso hearing about Ryuji's situation. The only person who actually saw Ryuji was Futaba, the rest of the Phantom Thieves were distraught, but no one could ever be ready for the terror they felt upon seeing their friend unconscious on the bed hooked to an IV and with his VR headset.

Their desire to change Kayaba's heart was even more apparent now that they've seen Ryuji in such state, however they can't.

They successfully ended Mementos' existence from all of Japan, even the Jails that propped up recently ceased to exist after their battle against EMMA.

"This is just wrong." Morgana whispered to himself. "Ryuji's supposed to be brash, and loud." He added. "Not this quiet, this still."

"I know." Ren acknowledged.

"Anne-chan."Someone greeted. "Are you here to see Ryu-kun?"

The woman in question had eyes that were red from crying.

"Yes Sakamoto-san." Anne nodded. "Let me introduce everyone else."

As soon as introductions were done, the elder Sakamoto allowed Ryuji's friends inside the room and lead them towards her son's bed.

"You kids are here." Sojiro commented. "I'm going out for a bit, anyone want me to buy something?" He asked the group.

"We're good Boss." Ren replied. "We ate before we rushed here." He informed.

"Hope you didn't deplete my ingredients." Sojiro offered. "I'll be back."

Sojiro gave the group one glance before leaving the room.

"So how'd you all meet Ryu-kun?" Ryuji's mother asked the group. "It's kind of surprising him making a few friends considering what happened with that teacher." She added bitterly.

Everyone else took a turn and narrated how they met Ryuji from Ren's fateful meeting on his first day at Shujin High.

Yusuke, when Ryuji stopped him from approaching Anne.

Makoto, when she was blackmailed by the yakuza

Futaba and Haru during their lowest point.

"That boy." The elder Sakamoto shook her head. "He can't really leave people alone when he knows they need help." She offered a sad smile. "Then all these misfortunes happen to him." She sniffled. "I wonder if I'm such a failure as a mother."

"N-No!" Anne immediately debunked the notion. "You know how much Ryuji loves you Sakamoto-san." She assured her friend's mother.

"B-but I can't even defend him against his father and his teacher." The elder Sakamoto now had tears in her eyes. "Now I can't even save him from this death game." She sobbed.

"Your son's a fighter Sakamoto-san." Ren assured Ryuji's mother. "I'm sure he'll fight to survive."

"I hope so." Ryuji's mother cried. "I really hope so."

* * *

"I'll be back as soon I'm rested Ryu-kun." Ryuji's mother stated before kissing her son on his forehead. "Your friends offered to watch over you for a while." She smiled.

Ryuji's mother left with Sojiro, who offered her a ride back to home. The two of them left the Phantom Thieves to watch over their friend.

"Is there some way we can help Ryuji?" Anne voiced out. "I just can't stand that for all the things he's done for us we can't do anything for him."

"If only we can use our Personas and communicate with him directly." Futaba sniffled.

"What do you mean?" Makoto asked.

"No Futaba's right." Ren agreed. "Every time Navi communicates with us, her voice, for lack of better term, are sent immediately to our brains." He explained. "We don't exactly hear her when she speaks." He finished.

"You're right." Anne's eyes widened in realization.

"Can we send Sophie?" Haru suggested. "She's still an Artificial Intelligence right?"

"We don't even know if Sophie can enter Sword Art Online." Anne sighed. "The reason she can enter Jails was that she was the prototype for EMMA."

"I don't know." Ren hummed. "Don't dismiss that idea just yet." He continued. "We need to talk to Ichinose first."

"What do we do in the mean time?" Yusuke questioned.

"Offer him some words of encouragement." Ren smiled. "Hear that Ryuji!" He exclaimed. "We're all counting on you to wake up and exit that game."

In their own way, the thieves gave Ryuji Sakamoto moral encouragement even when he's unconscious. They continued to do so and continued to converse anything and everything they loved about him.

* * *

As time went on, Sojiro returned to the hospital. He got the thieves to return home and offered to watch over Ryuji at the hospital, provided that they walk Futaba home before they did.

The thieves nodded and went to Ryuji one by one to say their farewells and promises to return the next day.

"Make sure you survive okay!" Futaba stated in tears before she gave Ryuji a peck on his cheeks.

"For all that you've done, it's time to return the favor Ryuji-kun." Makoto smiled as she kissed the boy's other cheek.

"We are counting on you to return to your usual boisterous self." Yusuke stated as he kissed the boy's forehead.

"We'll be waiting for you Ryuji-kun." Haru smiled as she kissed Ryuji's nose.

"Make sure you return okay!" Anne stated as she tried to hold back her tears. "I don't think I can take losing you the second time." She sniffled as she kissed Ryuji's cheeks.

"I haven't realized before, but you're the glue that's keeping us together." Morgana meowed as he stood on Ryuji's chest. "Make sure you return and I promise not to nag on you so much." He finished before licking the boy's nose.

"Hey man." Ren began. "I know how much effort you guys went through when I was stuck in juvie." He continued. "I knew you and Makoto lead the team and others so that I could walk away and clean my name." He smiled. "It's my, no our, turn to make sure you get to escape that death game." He added. "We're counting on you to escape that game and give us more laughs and just be yourself." Ren finished as he kissed Ryuji's forehead before ruffling the hair that was now showing its black colored roots.

"Let's go." Ren announced as he faced the other Phantom Thieves.

"We're waiting for you Ryuji."


	2. SAO - 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryuji's first days in the of Sword Art Online.

Ryuji dreaded the time when he would spot Futaba inside the game since the announcement that Sword Art Online turned into a death game. He remembered that he and Futaba were supposed to meet up at the Town of Beginnings and brief her of the suitable grinding spots in the game.

Days passed and still there was no sign of Futaba.

Maybe, just maybe.

Futaba wasn't able to log in to the game.

As he looked for Futaba inside the game, there were something else that has occupied Ryuji's attention.

"Dude!" Ryuji called out to the woman standing by the edge. "We can talk about this." He pleaded to the woman.

"What's there to talk about?!" The woman snarled. "We're never going to get out of this game." She despaired.

"I get that, I really do." Ryuji nodded. "But what good will that do?" He asked. "Killing yourself will only make things harder for the people trying to get us out of here." He explained. "Not to mention the kids trapped here with us."

"What do I care about what they think?!" The woman faced Ryuji as tears fell from her eyes. "Don't you get it?! We're never getting out of here!"

"Eff that!" Ryuji exclaimed. "If not for the people here, think of the people who loves you outside? What about them?"

The woman was caught off guard by Ryuji's words. She hadn't thought of the people outside. She hadn't thought of her mother, her father, her husband and her children.

The woman stepped away from the edge but soon crumpled to the floor and sobbed her heart out. She needed to be out of this game and cater to her children.

"Why don't we sit on that bench?" Ryuji immediately approached the woman.

The woman merely nodded as she let the boy carry her to the bench. She sniffled and hiccupped along the way.

Ryuji opened his menu and retrieved a food item from his item storage and handed it to the woman with him.

"Here take this."

The woman took the food item and began munching on it little by little.

"I know that the situation seems hopeless." Ryuji sighed. "The same idea did cross my mind." He admitted.

"H-how do you continue?" The woman asked.

"Same reason why the idea had crossed my mind." Ryuji admitted. "I contemplated taking my own life because I don't want my ma to be buried in debt considering the hospital fees she's going to pay." He explained. "But it's also the same reason why I can't die here." He added. "I'm all she has, I can't bear to think what she would do if I…"

"You really love your mother, don't you?" The woman asked.

"Yeah." Ryuji nodded. "She was the only one who was there for me when my deadbeat father beat me up." He continued. "And when my pervert of a teacher decided to break my legs."

"That's horrible." The woman gasped.

"No worries." Ryuji assured the woman with a smile. "I actually can't feel my leg acting up." He shared. "Probably because everything's in my brain and my legs aren't moving." He shrugged. "I don't really know the specifics." He admitted sheepishly.

Since Ryuji saved that one woman from committing suicide, Ryuji has been known to at least talk to the people who were contemplating of exiting life for good. He sat with them, he told him part of his life story minus being a Phantom Thief.

Then he found out about the kids stuck in the game.

Ryuji didn't care about the kids at first but during one of his grinding session, he found a few kids who took on more than they could chew.

Ryuji immediately made quick work on the admittedly lower-levelled Frenzy Boars, but to these kids, these were complete monsters.

"Everyone alright?" Ryuji asked the kids who were still stunned.

After a few moments of waiting for the answer, the kids immediately ran to Ryuji's side and bawled their eyes out.

"Let's get back to town alright?" Ryuji told the kids. "There we can talk safely alright?"

Slowly but surely, Ryuji was able to usher the kids to the church, where other kids their age stayed.

"Why were you outside the town?" Ryuji asked the kids gently. "If I wasn't there, you could have been killed."

"What happened Rairyu?" A man approached Ryuji.

"Found these kids outside town Thinker." Ryuji relayed. "Bit off more than they could chew."

"I see." Thinker nodded. "It's a good thing you managed to save them." He smiled.

"Yeah." Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "It was nothing really."

"Let's let them rest for the day." Thinker suggested. "We can ask them about this tomorrow morning."

"Good idea." Ryuji nodded. "I'll get back to levelling myself." He stated as he exited the church.

"Remember, the offer still stands." Thinker smiled. "The Aincrad Liberation Squad could use a lot more people as compassionate as you, Vulgar Blonde Talker."

"That nickname sucks and you know it!" Ryuji pouted. "As for the offer, I don't really do well with people in authority." He admitted. "Sooner or later we'd have disagreements and that could end badly." He sighed. "It's better that I'm not a member of any guild as large as yours."

"That's unfortunate."

"Well then, I'm off." Ryuji grinned. "Don't worry, I haven't made a final decision yet." He informed the guild leader."

"Think about it as long as you like." Thinker replied. "You're welcome to join anytime."


	3. IRL - 2

It was the end of classes that Ren decided to call someone.

It has been a hectic couple of days. He never missed to visit Ryuji at the hospital, neither did anyone of their group.

Makoto had gotten in contact with Ichinose as soon as they disbanded on the first day of Ryuji's predicament. He hadn't gotten any update on Ichinose's answer all he got was an 'I'll look into it'.

Nothing had frustrated Ren more than the vague answer Ichinose gave them. He needed to do something to help Ryuji fast, he was counting on them to help him escape.

"Has Ichinose called?" Ren immediately asked as soon as the phone call was picked up.

"Yes." Makoto's voice affirmed. "She also said that there are risks involved."

"What risks?" Ren frowned.

"I'll explain later." Makoto didn't elaborate. "I think everyone needs to hear this first hand." She explained.

* * *

As soon as Ren arrived at Leblanc, he can see everyone was already assembled, even Sae and Sojiro were present.

"Have you eaten?" Sojiro greeted.

Ren simply shook his head.

Sojiro shook his head as he placed one bowl of curry on the counter.

"Makoto, please enlighten us on what you've discovered." Sae urged.

"Ichinose called and has stated that she can place Sophia into the game." Makoto began. "She has already finished tweaking Sophia's codes so that she can transfer to any device with the use of the internet." She added. "She also tweaked the codes of the program Futaba made for Sophia to transfer to other devices."

"That's great!" Haru remarked.

"However, there is a risk where Kayaba would be able to detect her presence and assume things and remotely detonate the kill switch of any of the SAO players who comes in contact with her." She continued.

Ren was eating the curry prepared for him as he listened to Makoto's words.

"Are we willing to risk Ryuji and the rest just get him some aid?" Makoto asked the group.

"Ren?" Sae asked the new arrival.

"I…"

There was a risk.

A very heavy risk.

"Ren?" Morgana popped out of the bag.

"Is it true that he can remotely activate the kill switch?" Futaba questioned, gaining everyone's attention. "Kayaba has stated, only when the player is killed in the game or we forcefully remove the headgear from his head would the kill switch be activated." She read the information on her laptop. "There was no mention of remotely killing the players."

"Would you really think that an adult as vile as him wouldn't hide anything from the public?" Yusuke asked.

"What if I hacked my Nervegear?" Futaba suggested. "By doing so we could gain some valuable intel on them.

"I am not allowing you to do that." Sojiro dismissed the idea entirely. "I am not allowing you to wear that death trap."

"It's not like I'll be wearing it." Futaba argued. "I'm not logging into the game." She assured. "I am simply looking for the codes for the remote switch."

"Isn't that illegal?" Anne asked as she looked at the defense attorney with them.

"For investigative purposes, this is allowed." Sae answered. "In fact the government and other private organizations are already hard at work on hacking the system to see if they can override it and save the lives still trapped in that world."

"Legality check." Futaba snickered.

"I'm not allowing you to work on that alone." Sojiro conceded.

"How am I supposed to work on it in the first place?" Futaba pouted. "It's not like there's a CCTV in my room that would let you monitor my work."

"CCTVs in bedrooms are prohibited.' Sae immediately interjected. "It violates the human right of privacy." She informed everyone in the room.

"Why not bring your work here Futaba?" Anne suggested. "I can spare some time after school for you to work on that." She added. "You still have to go to school."

"Does this place even have an internet connection?" Futaba asked her adoptive father. "We can't really see my work if there's no connection here."

"It's here, it's here." Sojiro sighed. "I did not disconnect the place's internet connection even after Ren moved out." He shared. "You can hack the NerveGear on Ren's bedroom."

"The rest of us can spare some time every day, or whenever Anne has a shoot." Haru contributed.

"Thanks." Futaba grinned. "I think hacking the NerveGear shouldn't last a week." She offered an estimate.

"Don't be too sure." Ren chided. "While Japan's information network security has been upgraded since it's been hacked a few times, its security is still weak." He explained. "You're up against Akihiko Kayaba, he's bound to have a few more layers of firewalls to stave off hackers."

"Right." Makoto nodded. "Kayaba can't take these many hostages without a state of the art security for his hardwares and softwares." She explained. "Last I read, the world's governments are hard at work to free their respective constituents from the game."

"Mako-chan's right." Haru agreed. "We can't tackle this one recklessly." She added. "We could lose Ryuji in this."

"Why don't I stay in Tokyo for a while?" Morgana offered as jumped towards the table. "That way one of us can monitor her progress and stop her from putting the device on herself."

"That's a great idea." Futaba grinned. "That way, none of everyone's schedules would be disrupted while I worked on the NerveGear."

"I'm not really comfortable leaving Mona-chan alone." Haru expressed her concern.

"Besides, Futaba you still have school." Anne pointed out. "Were you planning on skipping school altogether to work on this?"

"I know." Futaba sighed in resignation. "Don't you think that this is way more important than some dumb school?" She asked her older companions. "Besides, I'm way smarter than everyone else."

"No." Ren put his foot down. "You're already behind your age group as it is Futaba." He explained. "If anything, Ryuji'd blame himself for your setback."

"Then what should we do?" Futaba questioned.

"Ren?" Yusuke asked for the leader's input.

"We'll go with Anne's suggestion." Ren answered. "That way Futaba can still work on her NerveGear and go to school at the same time." He enumerated his reasons.

"I'm fine with that." Sojiro gave his approval.

"As am I." Sae nodded.

"It's unanimous then?" Morgana asked the entire group.

"It's unanimous then?" Haru repeated Morgana's line for the sake of the people who can't hear the cat.

"Yes." Everyone in the room answered.

"Let's go visit Ryuji then." Ren declared. "I'm sure he's missed us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was sure that Alicization was going to be released on the 25th of April. but when I searched... It's moved to March...  
> Oh well, hope you enjoyed the update.
> 
> Edit: Err July lol! I meant July!!!


	4. SAO - 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryuji remembers what happened to Shiho, so he tries his best to never witness a repeat of that scene wherever he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its Ryuji's Birthday!  
> I just had to update today!
> 
> Happy Birthday Ryuji!

A week had gone by and no one has any inkling on how to defeat the first floor boss.

Let alone find the entrance to it.

Ryuji, known in game as Rairyu, had gone to the different towns and dungeons on the first floor and grinded his level. Fortunately, there were no people planning to exit life while he was preoccupied with leveling up.

In between his grinding sessions, he had begun guiding children he had found trying their hand at leveling up but were too ill-equipped for the task. He took them to an orphanage owned by someone named Sasha. He's become a regular to the kids residing in the orphanage.

"How's your grinding session lately Rairyu-san?" Sasha asked as she prepared Ryuji a piece of bread and a cup of drink.

"As fine as it can be." Ryuji replied. "If there's one thing I'm thankful is that there are no children in those relatively high-level dungeon areas."

"That's great news." Sasha nodded as she placed down the food items before Rairyu. "It means there are no more kids at risk of dying."

"I don't know about that." Ryuji shook his head. "I was only referring to the kids under leveled to perform a raid." He admitted. "There's still a lot of kids who are admittedly higher level than I am and are risking their lives."

"That's horrible." Sasha covered her arms in horror.

"Sadly, a lot of SAO's players are kids." Ryuji sighed. "There are adults sure, take the entirety of the Aincrad Liberation Squad and MMOToday, both unofficial guilds, as examples." He pointed out. "But there's a lot more kids."

"Aren't you a kid yourself Rairyu?" Sasha questioned. "Your vulgarity seems to imply that."

"Oh come on!" Rairyu groaned. "You've heard about that too?"

Sasha merely giggled at the boy's reaction.

"But no." Ryuji shook his head. "I turned 18 a little while ago." He shared.

"Still on the young side then." Sasha clapped her hands. "I'm six years your senior." She shared. "For an adult, you sure don't like coffee." She pointed out.

Before Ryuji could even reply, someone barged in on the orphanage and demanded for Ryuji's attention.

"What's up?" Ryuji called out. "I'm Rairyu."

"Someone's about to jump off." The female player called. "Hurry."

Without a moment's hesitation, Ryuji immediately dashed towards Aincrad's edges and there he found a very young player, a few years younger than him, standing on the edge.

"Hey kid." Ryuji called out. "Surely things can't end here, can it?" He asked the boy. "You can't give up."

"What's it to you?!" The boy replied bitterly. "I know who you are Mister Vulgar Blonde Talker." He spat.

"If you know who I am, then you know why I'm here right." Ryuji offered.

"Whatever." The boy rolled his eyes and simply looked at the endless void of clouds below the floating castle. "Your sob story won't work on me." He scoffed.

"Then why are you doing this then." Ryuji asked again

"If you can resurrect my younger brother." The boy glared at Ryuji. "Then I'll step off of the ledge."

The reason stunned Ryuji. He didn't think that circumstances inside the game would also be a reason why people would want to log out of life permanently.

"That's what I thought." The boy scoffed.

"Would your brother want you to do this?" Ryuji asked as he looked at his boots. "Would he want you to kill yourself?"

"I don't care." The boy replied coldly. "He isn't here to tell us what he wants."

"Eff that! You don't care about your brother at all." Ryuji growled as he faced the grief-stricken boy.

"What did you say?!" The boy faced Ryuji angrily. "I dare you to repeat what you said!" He yelled. "I dare you!"

"You don't care about your brother at all." Ryuji growled.

"Why you?!" The boy retrieved his knives and activated a sword skill, ready to strike Rairyu

Ryuji made no move to defend himself.

Ryuji knew he was in the safe zone, while there was a knockback effect, he knew his HP won't drop.

One of the boy's knives glowed purple, he then threw the knife at Rairyu

Ryuji was knocked back a few paces away from the boy but he managed to stand his ground despite the knockback effect in place.

The boy continued to throw his knives at Ryuji, while he never did anything to defend himself from the boy's projectiles.

As soon as the boy ran out of knives, he retrieved his sword, placed it on his shoulders and activated a sword skill and its blade glowed purple. After a moment he dashed towards Rairyu and stabbed him.

Ryuji was knocked back a few meters away from where he originally stood as he took the boy's attack.

"I loved and cared for my younger brother!" The boy growled as tears fell from his eyes. "How dare you say that I didn't care for him?"

"Because you're using him as an excuse." Ryuji answered calmly. "You're using him to justify you taking your own life." He added.

"I was supposed to protect him!" The boy sobbed. "We promised each other that we'd get out of this game together!"

"I get that." Ryuji comforted the boy and engulfed him in a hug. "It's never easy to lose someone you love." He continued. "But what about those who love you outside?" He asked. "I'm sure they're sad and grieving at the loss of your brother. "Would you really put them through to the same kind of sadness because of you" He questioned.

"T-they wouldn't care." The boy sniffled. "I-I…" He hiccupped. "I f-failed to protect my brother." He continued. "T-they'd wish that I was the one dead in-instead."

"You know that's not true." Ryuji offered comfortingly. "Yes they'd be upset." He admitted. "But they'd never wish for you to be dead as well." He assured. "Or worse, be in your brother's stead."

"You don't know my parents." The boy sobbed. "They loved my younger brother so much." He explained. "He was their favorite."

"Yes I do not know them." Ryuji nodded. "However, do you really know them?" Ryuji fired the question back. "Most parents would be upset that you failed to protect your brother, but they'd also be thankful that you survived as well."

"How can you say that?" The boy asked. "You had a deadbeat father who beat you up."

"I can say that because he wasn't always that way." Ryuji admitted. "Something bad happened to him and he took it out on me and ma." He continued. "Are you saying your parents are the same as my father?"

"N-no!" The boy immediately denied the claim.

"Then how can you say that your parents would wish for you to be dead instead?" Ryuji asked.

"Because… because…." The boy started. "Because… because they lost their favorite son."

"They'd rather lose a son than lose the both of you." Sasha stated as she stood behind the boy, still in Ryuji's arms. "I too lost a sibling once." She explained. "We mourned and grieved for my sister but they were still thankful that I was still alive."

"Just cry it out." Ryuji suggested. "Just cry it out." He repeated. "Everything will settle down once you've cried it all out."

The boy looked at Ryuji's eyes then buried his face in his chest and sobbed as loudly as he could. The feelings of hurt, guilt, inadequacy, failure, all came rushing to the boy as he cried and cried.

Ryuji and Sasha looked at each other as the blonde rubbed the boy's back comfortingly.

"You know Rairyu, you really do go out of your way to prevent people from jumping off." Sasha commented. "You bare yourself to them just so they'd think otherwise."

"I witnessed a friend jump off of the roof of our school." Ryuji admitted. "Didn't think she had it in her to commit it, but she did." He sighed. "All because a teacher threatened her female best friend if she didn't subject herself to him." He added. "So I promised to myself to stop anyone who'd commit suicide with the best of my abilities."

"That's so horrible!" Sasha gasped. "Was that teacher, Suguru Kamoshida?"

Ryuji just gave Sasha a sad smile as he remembered the suffering he, Shiho and Anne went through while under that teacher.

"I'm so happy that the Phantom Thieves changed his heart." Sasha offered. "Who knows what else he could have done had that not be the case." She shivered.

"He's a pervert and envious, I can tell you that much."

As the boy cried, Sasha and Ryuji talked and diverted away from the topic of Kamoshida and talked about something else. They waited for the boy with them to release all his pent up emotions and calm down.

Not long after, Sasha and Ryuji noticed that the boy had actually cried himself to sleep.

Ryuji and Sasha carefully placed the boy on top of Ryuji's back and returned to the orphanage. As they neared the orphanage, they met with the kids who were staying there.

Kids who Ryuji placed in the orphanage to be taken care of.

"It's Sha-nee and Rai-nii!" A little girl announced.

"She's right!" Another girl nodded.

"Sha-nee! Rai-nii!" The kids ran up to the pair. "Where were you?!" They asked.

"Oi!" A relatively older girl called out. "Rai-nii is carrying a sleeping boy." She chided. "At least wait until they've placed him on a bed."

"Sorry Rai-nii."

"No harm no foul." Ryuij chuckled. "But Saki's right." He stated. "At least wait until nii-chan has put him on a bed okay?"

"Okay!" The kids replied.

"Now you wait by the dining area." The girl known as Saki instructed the kids. "Rai-nii and Sha-nee will be with you shortly."

"Okay!"

Saki faced the older pair and led them to the sleeping area of the orphanage, while the kids rushed off to the orphanage's dining area.

"What happened?" Saki asked.

"Just cried himself to sleep." Sasha assured. "Rai-nii stopped him from doing something awful."

"That's great!" Saki praised.

"It's nothing special." Ryuji blushed as he placed the boy on the bed.

"You really are an amazing person Rai-nii." Saki praised Ryuji again. "You've always looked after the safety of everyone in this game."

"That's not true." Ryuji rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm not doing something special, your praises should be directed at the people trying to find the boss room."

"Aww Rai-nii's embarrassed." Saki teased.

"Come now Saki." Sasha chided. "Rai-nii is a very shy person."

Both girls giggled at Ryuji's expense as he himself was blushing madly from both the praise and the tease he's received.

"H-hey!" Ryuji pouted.

"Why don't we head upstairs?" Saki offered. The kids are eagerly waiting for the both of you." She chuckled. "In fact some of them are waiting patiently for that story of yours."

The three of them stood up and left the boy sleeping on the bed as they met with the other kids and told the children of Ryuji’s adventures out of the Town of Beginnings. 


	5. IRL - 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wild Mitsuru appeared, and she's trying to convince Ryuji's mother to transfer him to another hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since SAO - Alicization - War of Underworld airs today, I decided to update. Hope you enjoyed.  
> Also beware of mild spoilers of Persona 5 Scramble

A few weeks had passed since Futaba's suggestion of hacking into the NerveGear's codes.

Ren was getting frustrated at the fact that they were stuck waiting for her to hack into it. He just can't stand the fact that Ryuji was inside the game without getting any help from anyone.

"Ryuji may be an idiot academically." Morgana started as he popped out of the bag. "I trust that he can take care of himself." He assured his friend. "He has street smarts to back himself up."

"I know Ryuji can take care of himself." Ren nodded. "I'm just frustrated."

"You know we can't rush putting Sophia into SAO." Morgana reminded. "We don't know the risks involved."

"Morgana-san is correct Ren-san." Sophia agreed. "For me to be a good friend to people, I also need to assess the consequences of every action."

"Let's just be glad that Sophia, Zenkichi and Sumire have now been made aware of Ryuji's situation." Morgana offered.

* * *

"Are there any progress on your front Futaba?" Ren asked as soon as he stepped inside LeBlanc.

"It took some days to discover the hardware's codes and more days to connect them to the software's codes." Futaba began. "But I managed to decrypt them and see what they can do." She answered. "It turns out, Kayaba was telling the truth."

"What do you mean?" Anne frowned.

"Kayaba was not hiding any remote kill switch in the NerveGears." Futaba answered. "The worst he could he can do is shutdown the entire SAO server and kill all of his hostages." She added. "Or maybe reroute the hostages' consciousness into another virtual world where they remain unconscious IRL."

"What's stopping him from shutting down the servers entirely?" Makoto's eyes frowned in contemplation. "What's stopping him from killing thousands of hostages in one blow?"

"Can we really trust someone like Kayaba?" Haru voiced her concern. "If we put in Sophia inside the game, there is a chance that he could pull the plug and kill every hostage down."

"Not if he's not monitoring the game himself." Futaba snickered at her discovery.

Ren looked at the other occupants of the café, which mostly consisted of the former Phantom Thieves who were intently listening on Futaba's discover, gauging everyone's reactions.

He could almost smile at everyone's worry over Ryuji. It was true that some of them found his best friend annoying, being the loudmouth and brash person that he is.

Somehow, someway that lovable punk had wormed his way into each of their hearts. Sooner or later, he was found to be endearing, his brashness can be seen as a manifestation of his loyalty, sincerity and caring nature towards his friends and family.

"You see as I was hacking into my NerveGear, I noticed something peculiar." Futaba shared. "I had already pre-loaded the game that morning so that I can get into the action immediately."

Ren's eyes narrowed and the girls gasped as they realized the implications of Futaba's reaction

"I didn't log in, just loaded it." Futaba immediately assured as soon as she saw the reactions her friends donned. "I hacked into SAO's codes and found something interesting."

"Interesting, how?" Ren questioned.

"There's a system in place that manages everything in the virtual world." Futaba informed. "I haven't been able to even get a peek at the things this system can manage, but most probably everything." She continued. "Most probably, Kayaba won't even notice that someone hacked and logged into the game."

"Do we risk Ryuji's and everyone else's lives?" Yusuke asked. "There is still a chance that the worst will happen."

Everyone fell silent at the question.

"If Kayaba is indeed not monitoring the game itself." Sophia voiced out. "Then there's also a probability that the system in place would not notice I am inside." She offered. "Not unless I do something that would notify it of my presence."

"What happens if you get discovered?" Anne asked the girl inside the phone.

"She'd simply be kicked out of the game." Futaba answered. "Sophia is not an internal program that the system in place could just rewrite or delete."

"I suggest you consult Sakamoto-san for your answer." Sae offered as she went inside the café. "Every step you take involves the life of her son, in that sense, she has every right to know of your plans."

"Nijima-san is right." Sojiro voiced out as he went inside the café as well. "But we're not here for that."

"What?" Ren immediately went on alert.

"What happened?" Makoto asked her sister.

"The Kirijo group is moving a number of the SAO players to another hospital." Sae answered. "To free up some room for other patients." She explained.

"Are they doing it for free?" Ren immediately asked.

"The families of the SAO players would work at any Kirijo group affiliated stores and establishments." Sojiro answered. "If you lot are fast enough, you might still be able to catch up."

Everyone immediately dashed outside of the store. They all piled into separate vehicles and sped their way to the hospital were Ryuji was admitted.

* * *

The former Phantom Thieves rushed to the hospital where Ryuji was admitted and there they saw Ryuji's mother talking to a regal woman with red hair.

"I assure you Sakamoto-san, your son will be taken care of." The red haired woman gave her assurance to Ryuji's mother.

"Kirijo-sama this hospital is near to the places I work for and near to my house." Ryuji's mother reasoned. "I don't have enough time to add working for the Kirijo group on top of looking out for my son."

"Mitsuru-senpai let me take over." A woman in pink volunteered.

"Very well Yukari." Mitsuru conceded.

"Sakamoto-san right? I'm Yukari Takeba." The woman in pink introduced herself.

"That's Yukari Takeba!" Futaba hissed. "What is she doing here?!"

"Futaba keep it down." Makoto chided.

"S-sorry." Futaba apologized, head downcast.

"It's fine." Ren comforted the youngest person in the group. "Keep your enthusiasm low for the moment alright?"

"I understand your hesitation with regards to moving your son to a new facility." She smiled. "However don't you think it's beneficial if you just worked for one shift, that way you can take care of your son and yourself at the same time?"

Ren couldn't help but feel that something was wrong here. He knew that the Kirijo group could give Ryuji and anyone the best possible care if necessary. However, the Kirijo group's insistence on placing his best friend under their care was suspicious, and he wasn't going to stand for that.

"What about the jobs I took?" Ryuji's mother asked. "Resigning now with immediate effectivity would look badly on my record."

"Isn't your son's well being more important than your record at your workplace?" Yukari offered.

"Sakamoto-san already declined the offer." Ren voiced out, walking inside the room full of unconscious SAO players. "What is with the insistence to place her son under your care?"

"Ren-kun." Ryuji's mother gasped. "You don't need to do this."

"Ryuji's not here to do this himself." Ren smiled at his best friend's mother. "We'll do it in his stead."

As if on cue, the other former Phantom Thieves went inside the room and stood behind their friend's mother and their leader.

"I was wondering when you lot would reveal yourselves." Mitsuru announced. "Phantom Thieves of Hearts."

"Wha-"The former thieves were caught off guard at the declaration.

Ren was the only one whose identity was announced.

Wary, the Phantom Thieves subtlety moved themselves to surround their leader and Ryuji's mother, bracing themselves for what's to come.

"Since you are his mother Sakamoto-san" Mitsuru sighed. "You have every right to know about this."

"Are you sure Mitsuru-senpai?" Yukari questioned.

"Narukami has made his uncle aware of his abilities." Mitsuru offered. "As did Shirogane."

"That was due to their circumstances, right?" Yukari asked. "Yu-kun was forced to tell his uncle when he was put under suspicion for the serial kidnappings that took over Inaba." She started. "Naoto-kun had to tell her grandfather when she started to work for the Kirijo group."

"Yes, that is true." Mitsuru nodded. "However, I must take away Sakamoto's freedom to inform his mother of his abilities due to the current circumstances."

"What abilities Kirijo-sama?" Ryuji's mother asked. "My son's leg is broken, what other abilities could he possibly have that's not been taken by that perverted teacher?"

The former Phantom Thieves of Hearts looked at each other.

"Your son has the power of Persona." Mitsuru revealed. "As do the children behind you." She gestured.

Ryuji's mother looked at her son's friends in disbelief.

"Persona?"

The Phantom Thieves tried their best not to look affected at the reveal of their powers. If the Kirijo ever noticed the surprise in their actions, she never showed it.

"Impossible!" Morgana bellowed out. "There shouldn't be other Persona-users!"

"Simply put, a Persona is a mask used to face hardship." Mitsuru explained. "The Kirijo group once dabbled in experiments about Personas and Shadows, the opposite of Personas, and the few who exited the company were involved in those as well."

"I still don't see why you are insistent on taking Ryuji away." Ren challenged.

"Those people had experimented on people in the name of that power." Mitsuru answered. "We fear that if they discovered that one of Sword Art Online's players was also a Persona-user, he could be experimented."

"Especially now that he's unconscious." Yukari supplied. "He has no agency to refuse or even defend himself from the experimentation."

"How do we know that you aren't going to experiment on Ryuji yourselves?" Makoto stepped forward.

"Because the Kirijo group has stopped performing those kinds of experiments." Mitsuru answered.

"And also the fact that we can use them." Yukari supplied.

"Are you saying that you have the capacity to protect Ryuji from these would be assailants?" Yusuke challenged.

"Ye-"

"As much as I wish to say yes." Mitsuru cut off Yukari's answer. "I cannot completely guarantee his safety."

"Mitsuru-senpai." Yukari looked at her best friend.

"We will still protect him with the best of our abilities regardless." Mitsuru continued.

"Takeba-san mentioned that you can use your Personas." Futaba stepped forward, just behind Ren. "How do you even know the existence of Personas?"

"Futaba's right." Morgana praised. "Only the people who ventured inside the Metaverse can summon their Personas." He added. "As far as I know, we've only encountered people who awakened to their Personas right in front of us, barring Akechi."

The other thieves looked at Morgana as his head peaked out of the bag slightly to observe the events.

Mitsuru and Yukari looked at their immediate surroundings. No one was inside the room that wasn't related to one Ryuji Sakamoto.

"Fujisaki." Mitsuru called out. "Can you and your men step out of the room and proceed to the floor below for a moment?" She requested.

"As you wish Kirijo-sama." One of the men bowed then ushered everyone from the Kirijo group out of the room.

As soon as the Kirijo group employees left the room, Mitsuru produced a silver handgun.

The thieves' eyes widened at the firearm that was smuggled inside the hospital. Ren immediately pulled Ryuji's mom behind him as the other thieves got into a fighting stance.

Mitsuru suddenly pointed the gun at her head.

"Wha-!"

"Artemisia!" Mitsuru yelled as she pulled the trigger.

A gunshot was heard as an elegant woman with a whip appeared behind the Kirijo. The thieves were in awe at the sheer display of power. While Ryuji's mother gasped at the scene before her.

Ryuji's mother covered her face with her hands in fear and there was no doubt a lot of questions that ran through the elder Sakamoto's brain.

Ren looked at the gun and sure enough there was smoke coming out of the barrel but the Kirijo was still standing and wasn't bleeding from her temple.

"Incredible!" Morgana stared at the Persona in awe. "She's able to summon her Persona in the real world!"

"You must be thinking how am I able to use my Persona while in the real world and not inside a shadow nest." Mitsuru voiced out the unspoken question. "And depending on circumstances, Sakamoto-san may not be able to see my Persona."

The Phantom Thieves looked at their friend's mother expectantly. The Kirijo's words filled them a lot of questions.

"I-I can see the woman that just appeared." Ryuji's mother answered.

"But how?!" Anne exclaimed.

"I must agree." Yusuke nodded. "Personas shouldn't be usable in the real world."

"What Mitsuru-senpai used was an evoker." Yukari answered. "An evoker is needed to summon our Personas in the real world." She continued as she looked at the flabbergasted faces in front of her. "I can't really explain why the Evokers are shaped like guns." She admitted.

"It is possible to summon our Personas in the real world through sufficient training." Mitsuru answered some unspoken questions. "However the training necessary can be arduous and time consuming." She sighed. "It is still easy to summon our Personas using the evoker."

"If they can use their Personas, they must also be used to battle shadows." Morgana voiced out. "If what their saying is true, then maybe they can protect Ryuji."

"Is it just me or am I really hearing a cat meowing?" Yukari voiced out.

"It's not just you Yukari." Mitsuru answered. "I've been hearing those meows as well."

"Crap!" Futaba cussed.

"Please bring forth the other Persona-user in your midst." Mitsuru stated.

Morgana climbed out of Ren's bag and sat on his shoulders.

"Another animal huh?" Yukari sighed. "It just makes me miss Koro-chan more."

"You knew?!" Futaba pointed a finger at both ladies.

"I only knew that the number of Persona users in my scan do not match the number of people I'm facing." Mitsuru shook her head. "I did not know that the missing Persona-user was a feline."

"I'm not a cat!" Morgana hissed.

"From the hissing, I can tell he's uncomfortable."

"He's saying he's not a cat." Futaba translated. "So you can't really hear what he's saying."

"Are you saying that you can understand your cat?" Yukari exclaimed. "H-how?!"

"Let's skip the details for now Yukari." Mitsuru ordered. "Let's come back another day and transport the other patients, they only have two hours before their NerveGears' kill switch activates."

"Wait." Ren called hesitantly. "If you can summon your Persona." He walked towards Mitsuru's position. "Can you let us talk to Ryuji?"

"Ren." The thieves looked at their leader.

"Please?" Ren bowed in front of the Kirijo woman.

Mitsuru smiled at Ren's action.

"Yukari, you can go on ahead and oversee the transfer." Mitsuru ordered. "Tell Akihiko and Iori that I'll be with them shortly."

"Should I tell Fuuka as well senpai?"

"Please do." Mitsuru nodded.

The thieves and Ryuji's mother looked at Mitsuru in confusion as she ordered the lady with her to oversee the operation they have at hand.

"Artemisia, also has secondary communication abilities." Mitsuru revealed. "You can talk to your friend for a while."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since SAO - Alicization - War of Underworld airs today, I decided to update. Hope you enjoyed.


	6. SAO - 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wild Klein and a wild Diavel appears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of Kirito's awakening and fight against POH. Here's a new chapter

Ryuji has just arrived at Medai village after partying up with some of the players. He could admit that they were fun to be around.

He had just checked in to the inn when he heard a voice. "Sakamoto!"

Ryuji was immediately on alert when he heard his last name being called. As far as he knew, he didn't tell anyone his real name and somehow someone was using that to call him.

"Sakamoto, Can you hear me?" The voice asked.

"Who're you?!" Ryuji asked. "How'd you know my name?!"

"Ryuji relax." Ryuji heard his best friend's name.

"R-ren? You logged into the game too?" Ryuji immediately asked. "Where are you now?"

"Relax Ryuji." Ren repeated. "I'm outside the game." He answered the question. "We're using someone's Persona to communicate with you."

"Someone can use their Persona in the real world?!" Ryuji uttered out in bewilderment. "That's… No, I need to ask you one thing."

"If it's about me, I'm with Ren." Futaba immediately replied.

"That's a relief." Ryuji slumped on a chair. "How about Mom? Is she okay? Should I…"

"Don't you dare Ryuji Sakamoto!" Anne immediately cut off Ryuji's question. "She's listening to your words now."

"C-crap!"

"Ryu-kun." Ryuji heard his mother's voice. "Would you really leave me?"

"N-no! Ma!" Ryuji sputtered. "I-it's not wha-what you think." He tried to reason out. "I-it's just that I don't want to be a burden to you anymore than I already am."

"Ryu-kun, you're all I have left." Ryuji's mother sobbed. "You're not a burden to me, you never were."

"I-I… I know that." Ryuji sighed. "I know that but it doesn't help that I've been giving you problems ever since Pa left us."

"Ryu-kun, how many times do I have to tell you?" Ryuji's mother chided gently. "What happened to us, you weren't at fault at all." She stated firmly. "Your deadbeat of a father decided to beat you, to beat us. Kamoshida was at fault for leaking personal information and provoking you that resulted in your broken your leg, and now Kayaba is the one at fault for trapping you and 10,000 others in that game."

"I know but…"

"But nothing." Ryuji's mother sniffled.

"You're already working for three or four jobs already." Ryuji pointed out. "Hospital bills are crazy expensive."

"If I may Sakamoto." The voice from earlier intervened. "I promised your mother that she won't be paying a single yen for your hospitalization."

"What's the catch?" Ryuji immediately questioned.

"It's admirable that you immediately asked for the 'catch' if you will." The unfamiliar female voice praised. "Being a phantom thief does wonders If I do say so myself." The mirth in her voice could be heard. "To answer your question, I would like to have your mother work for the hospital you'll be transferred to."

"Umm guys, anything I'm missing here?"

"She's Mitsuru Kirijo, the Kirijo Group's CEO." Haru answered. "We are using her Persona abilities to talk to you. Her ability also include scanning us and having Personas somehow revealed our status as Phantom Thieves."

"Is everyone there?" Ryuji asked.

"Hello Ryuji." Yusuke greeted. "Yes everyone's here, including your mother."

"To answer your question, Kirijo-san has asked your mother to transfer you to a different hospital." Makoto shared. "On the grounds that you are a Persona-user."

"The hell?!"

"She also revealed the risk of your unconsciousness being subjected to different experiments if they didn't intervene immediately."

"Ma, you know I'd understand if…"

"Don't you dare finish that thought Ryuji Sakamoto!"

Ryuji flinched at the use of his complete name. He was not ignorant of the fact that his mother loved him dearly. The sacrifices she took to raise him as a single mother, the dedication, the work…

He's not blind.

"I know ma." Ryuji sighed. "Just…" He gulped. "Think of yourself first before you think of me, alright?"

"We'll take care of your mother Ryuji." Ren promised. "You can count on that."

"I'll hold you to that man." Ryuji smiled. "Convince her to…"

"We're not going to do that." Ren dismissed the thought. "Futaba was already distraught when you were trapped in the game alone."

"Crap."

"Crap's a good word for it." Morgana's voice was heard.

"Even the cat's there too?" Ryuji exclaimed. "How?"

"I have my ways." Ren teased. "In any case Ryuji, we'll wait how long it takes for you to escape that game."

"I'm sorry but I have to cut this conversation short. It's getting late, but let me leave a few words of advice, Sakamoto." Mitsuru began. "Asking _that_ of your friends and mother won't bring relief to them. That only brings feelings of inadequacy and sadness to them."

Ryuji noticed that the Kirijo's voice held so much more than just the words of an adult telling a child off. He can feel that these words dug up something in her, experience perhaps.

"Ponder on those thoughts Sakamoto."

Just like that, the link was cut off.

Ryuji sat on the bed for a while before lying on the bed.

He was thinking of the conversation that just happened. He was genuinely relieved that Futaba wasn't able to log into the game. The one thing that bothered him was how his mother reacted to his thoughts.

Sure, he was the only thing left for her.

But…

But he can't help but feel that he was burdening her with his situation.

Then there was Kirijo-san's words.

He can't help but feel that there was something more to the words she spoke.

"Hello! Anyone home" Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." Ryuji prompted. "It's open."

A man wearing a cloth headband by his forehead peeked his head through the door.

"Klein!" Ryuji stood as he greeted the man with red hair. "There any changes?"

"Rairyu so-" The man identified as Klein opened the door and immediately cut himself as soon as he saw tears falling from Ryuji's eyes. "Hey what's wrong?"

"Wha- huh?" Ryuji questioned. "W-Why am I crying?" He tried to wipe the tears off of his face.

"H-hey, it's okay." Klein immediately got Ryuji in a one-arm hug. "Whatever it is man, it's going to be okay."

"N-no, you don't understand." Ryuji tried to defend himself, still trying to wipe the tears from his face. "I didn't mean to cry."

"You can't really _mask_ your emotions here Rairyu." Klein informed. "Found that out when the party was reminiscing on some old memories." He chuckled as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck."

"For real?!" Ryuji looked at Klein in disbelief. "How convenient." He remarked sarcastically.

"I don't think so." Klein shrugged. "Way I see it, it lets all to be honest with ourselves." He admitted.

Ryuji continued to wipe the tears from his face as Klein watched it happen.

"Can I ask?"

"I just miss Ma and my friends, is all." Ryuji sighed as he gave up trying to stop the tears. "I can't help but feel that this whole situation is going to be a burden to her." He admitted. "It really makes me wonder why she hadn't pulled the plug and let my useless ass get fried by the NerveGear."

"Didn't know you carried something deep." Klein's eyes narrowed in concern. "I know about your reputation about talking to the people who despaired." He squeezed Ryuji's shoulder. "Didn't know you also carried the same baggage around."

"I see now." Klein nodded knowingly.

"What do you see?"

"You're the type of character who's so loyal to their friends and family and forget about yourself." Klein answered knowingly. "You're the type of guy who'd do anything for his friends."

"Wha- Huh? Where'd you get that?" Ryuji inquired.

"Considering your reputation and your tendency to help children, I'd say my impression of you is on point."

"There's nothing special in what I do." Ryuji denied the praise. "I'm still someone dumb that's managed to become a burden to his mother once more."

"That's where you're wrong kid." Klein ruffled Ryuji's hair. "You inspire people, your words give them hope."

"Am not a kid." Ryuji grumbled.

"Really?" Klein chuckled. "I'm sorry if this seems rude, but how old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Still younger than me." Klein chuckled. "Despite what you may think about yourself, you're far from useless kid." He grinned at the young boy. "You've helped a lot of children by putting them under the care of a makeshift orphanage and helped a lot of people from taking that drastic action."

"For real?"

"For real!" Klein affirmed. "That's not useless kid, that's heroic."

"I guess, it's pretty heroic to stop people from doing that one thing." Ryuji sheepishly smiled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Now don't get your head big with that praise." Klein teased.

"Thanks Klein." Ryuji thanked the older man. "I guess I needed to hear that."

"We all have our ups and downs kid." Klein assured. "I have my days as well."

"Did you need something else?" Ryuji asked.

"Right." Klein nodded. "We're bailing out on tomorrow's side quest with you." He admitted. "One of my party members suddenly got his weapon destroyed and we're trying to find him a new one." He added.

"No worries." Ryuji assured. "You were the one who offered me a spot in your guild in the first place." He smiled." I can wait."

"We're still not a guild you know." Klein corrected.

"I know that." Ryuji nodded. "But I've seen people name their parties." He pointed out. "I think that's a sign as any that they're going to form a guild once they reach the third floor."

"Good point." Klein nodded. "In any case, are you sure?"

"Yeah man." Ryuji grinned. "There's been a side quest that I've been meaning to get to for the children back at the Orphanage."

"The one that gives cream as a reward?" Klein questioned.

"Nah, some of the older kids got that covered." Ryuji shook his head. "I'm referring to the one with the Mosquito-Pig Boss." He shared. "The reward was a few pieces of Ragout Rabbit meat."

"Ugh." Klein cringed. "That side quest was such a…." He trailed off as he shivered at the memory. "The money we got from selling all of them was worth it tho." He sighed.

"Really?" Ryuji inquired. "Any tips for me?"

"It starts as a simple escort mission." Klein shared. "Be prepared for any jump scares." He shivered at the memory. "That boss almost gave me a heart attack."

"Huh, when do you think we'll party again?"

"Depends." Klein stated as he walked to the room's door. "We need to make sure that the weapon we buy is sturdy enough to last."

"You know where to reach me." Ryuji grinned.

* * *

Once Ryuji woke up, he immediately went south of Medai and talk to the quest giver at the edge of town. That was where the infamous Ragout Rabbit meat quest was found.

Ryuji looked around the town's south gate, and there he found the fearful young man that was the quest giver.

He approached the young man.

"Hello young traveler, can you offer your assistance?" The young man started his spiel. "Father and Mother asked me to fetch some water by the river a few miles from here, however that place is crawling with monsters."

As the man continued his spiel, Ryuji noticed that the young man was wearing a white long sleeved shirt under an open brown vest, brown pants and boots. The man was your typical poor man in those retro movies Morgana insisted they watched.

"With my mother and father both bedridden, it is up to me to fetch them and our land lord some water."

A window popped up in front of Ryuji detailing about the quest he had intended to accept.

He was about to accept the quest when someone called out for him to stop.

"Stop!"

Ryuji looked in the direction of the voice, and there was a man with blue hair and wearing in what looks like a knight armor.

"You shouldn't accept that quest."

Ryuji raised an eyebrow at the statement.

"Not unless you have a party with you." The man in armor finished as he made a gesture with his hand.

"Huh?" Ryuji tilted his head.

"It's because when the rescue mission comes into play one of the party members gets kidnapped as well." Another man, in the same armor albeit different in color, answered. "Frankly, some people almost died because they didn't have a party with them."

Ryuji nodded at the points, but he was still suspicious.

"Why stop me?" Ryuji asked. "I see you already have a party."

"Why, because you're Rairyu!" The man who called to him replied. "Frankly morale would go low if you're killed in the game."

"Do I really have that much of an impact on the whole game?" Ryuji questioned.

"You have no idea." The man chuckled. "Some people have been emulating your example in trying to stop people from jumping off of the ledge."

"They're just trying to do right thing." Ryuji denied the praise. "Like what I did."

"In any case, why don't you party with us?" The other man asked. "And we could do the quest together."

"I guess." Ryuji shrugged. "Just whoever gets whatever owns that alright?"

"Fine by me."

A second window appeared before Ryuji then pressed the blue circle.

"Diavel, Darien, Shark, Katon?" Ryuji read the names that appeared.

"That's us." A man replied as he approached the group. "Shark." He introduced himself.

"Diavel." The man with blue hair spoke.

"Darien." The other man who just arrived and slung his arm over Diavel's shoulders.

"Katon." A woman stated after jumping into Ryuji's view.

"Rairyu." Ryuji introduced himself. "I guess you already knew that."

"The Vulgar Blonde Talker." Katon grinned. "Got to say you've quite the name."

"C'mon you have to agree that nickname sucked." Ryuji pouted at the mention of his nickname.

Diavel's party chuckled at Ryuji's pout. They have an inkling towards the boy's age and seeing his reaction just proved it.

"No worries." Shark grinned. "It's not like we'll be using them."

"Still, I would've loved something cooler." Ryuji continued to pout.

"With you in our party, you can accept the side quest." Diavel spoke.

Ryuji nodded as he pressed the blue circle on the remaining window.

* * *

Ryuji's party, alongside the quest giver, were walking towards the forest that housed a riverbank. The party chatted idly with each other in the party.

"We're actually trying to find the floor dungeon leading to the floor boss room." Diavel shared. "Some things changed in the first floor since the beta test." He sighed. "I just hope our knowledge would be enough to escape the game."

"You're a beta tester?" Ryuji questioned. "That's right, someone's spreading some rumors back in the town of beginnings about how you guys abandoned newbies like us." He shared.

"We beta-testers just ignore them." Diavel shrugged. "We have compiled what we all found during the beta test up until the eleventh floor." He stated as he retrieved a small book from his pants' back pocket. "But as I stated earlier, things changed since the beta test."

"For real?" Ryuji looked at the book with wide eyes. "This was legit?"

"You mean to say you didn't buy one yourself Rairyu?" Diavel tilted his head in confusion.

"Figured it was some nobody who wanted to make a quick buck." Ryuji admitted. "Even cautioned Sasha and the kids at the orphanage about it."

Ryuji's eyes widened in realization at what he just did.

"Crap!" Ryuji exclaimed. "We need to finish this quest quick I need to inform them about this."

* * *

"We're nearing the forest." The quest giver stated. "The open field to the forest doesn't have any monsters in the area." He informed the party. "Because nearby lords hire warriors and travelers such as yourselves to clean the open field leading to the forest every other day."

"That's why there were no monsters and warriors in the area." Ryuji observed.

"However, the forest has lots of monsters." The man shivered. "Most prominent are the Ramoos." He shared.

"Ramoos?"

"They look like Frenzy Boars." Katon supplied. "Only difference to the Frenzy Boars is that they're brown and have larger tusks." She added. "They're also higher level than the Frenzy Boars."

Before any of the other party members could interject the quest giver, the quest giver screamed in fear and ran towards the forest's entrance.

"Look alive everyone!" Diavel announced. "Enemy encounter."

Ryuji retrieved his Mace from his back and donned his usual fighting stance.

As soon as one of the Ramoos charged, Ryuji made his move as well. He intercepted the attack by swinging his mace before delivering a kick towards its face and bashed it once more with his weapon.

Ryuji jumped back and put his weapon over his shoulder as it glowed a yellow-ish glow before swinging it into flight, in a spinning manner, which hit a lot of the monsters in the area, including the one he was fighting.

Ryuji raised his hand and caught the flying weapon and proceeded to continue bashing his enemies with it.

Soon after, the party defeated the enemies they encountered.

"Nice throw Rairyu!" Shark complimented.

"How many times did you practice throwing your mace just to catch it by one hand?" Katon asked curiously. "Seriously, while the hammer, axe or mace does return to the owner, no one has been able to catch their weapon when it returns."

"I never really practiced." Ryuji admitted. "I've been grinding levels since the announcement."

"On top of helping people and taking care of kids younger than you." Darien commented.

"I didn't care about the kids at first," Ryuji admitted. "But some kids kinda bit off more than they could chew and I had to intervene."

"Welp we've got Rairyu the heru with us!" Shark exclaimed.

"That doesn't really work Shark." Diavel shook his head. "Besides it's He-ro, ro." He corrected. "Not ru."

"Awww." Shark pouted. "You guys have shit taste in jokes."

"Puns aren't peak comedy material." Diavel chuckled.

"Wouldn't He-ryu have worked?" Ryuji tilted his head in confusion.

"Even Rairyu agrees." Katon guffawed.

After a few moments of waiting, the party noticed that the quest giver didn't come out of his hiding spot, merely observing what was happening on the now empty battlefield.

"Don't worry." Ryuji announced. "There are no more monsters around in the area."

The young man hesitantly approached the group then suddenly ran towards Ryuji and hugged him.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! So much!" The quest giver gave Ryuji a smooch on the cheeks in between his expression of gratitude. "I didn't know what I would've done without you travelers around." He released the mace wielder from the hug. "I am so thankful that I hired you despite the landlord's insistence not to."

Ryuji stood stunned at the turn of events.

Sure he listened to the quest giver's scripted spiel, but the sudden hug and kisses to his cheeks left him unable to process what just happened.

"Don't overthink it." Katon whispered. "Apparently this quest's quest giver's script is like that after witnessing its escorts defeat the first batch of Ramoos."

"That was quite unexpected." Ryuji admitted. "I'd imagine the female players would yell at his actions."

"The quest giver usually gives out the hugs and kisses treatment to the person who accepted the quest." Katon responded. "Coincidentally, only male players have been reported to accept the quest." She added.

"Don't tell me, none of the male players punched the guy?"

"They were like you, too stunned at what happened." Darien chuckled. "Even if they did try, their party did stop them."

"One of the many reasons why a party is needed for this quest." Diavel shrugged.

* * *

The party, alongside the quest giver, continued their trek in the forest towards the river. They encountered a lot more of the Ramoos along the way, and made quick work with them.

"I can see the river!" The quest giver announced as he dashed towards the place.

"H-hey wait!" Ryuji called out.

"Don't sweat it." Diavel assured. "The guy always dashes to the river once it's within his sight."

"You've done this quest before?" Ryuji asked his companions."

"Around five or so times." Shark shrugged. "It's one of the best ways to earn money." He added. "Once you sell most of the rewards you get for this quest."

"Ramoos meat would sell for 10 cor." Katon supplied. "Considering the amount of Ramoos meat we're getting in this quest, you could basically earn more or less 1,000 cor just by selling it."

"Granted if we kill all the Ramoos we encounter in this quest." Diavel added.

"For real?!" Ryuji exclaimed. "I had thought the money came from selling the loot we get from defeating the boss."

Before anyone could even reply, they heard the quest giver shout in fear.

Ryuji and the rest of the party charged right ahead and there they saw the quest giver surrounded by fifteen Ramoos.

"Part of the quest?" Ryuji questioned.

"Pretty much." Darien shrugged.

Like before, Ryuji was the first one to attack. He threw his mace at the Ramoos.

All fifteen Ramoos were hit and immediately charged at Ryuji to retaliate. They were intercepted by Diavel's and Darien's shields, while Katon threw picks at a few of them.

Shark on the other hand brandished his Cutlass and hit three of the monsters, earning their attention.

Diavel's and Darien's shields glowed blue before they slightly moved backwards and gave a mighty push, blowing the other twelve monsters away from the party, effectively dividing the enemies.

"We'll take three each." Diavel announced.

"Roger that!" Ryuji voiced as he charged at the three Ramoos that caught his eye.

As the party dealt with their own Ramoos problems, Ryuji was on his own dealing with his own share of monsters.

The Ramoos on the right blew out smoke from its snout before it charged at Ryuji.

The mace wielder used his weapon to catch the monster before throwing it off of himself. He immediately followed up by bashing his mace unto the monster who laid on top of the other then swung it to his left to hit the monster that came charging at him from there.

As the monsters struggled to get back up, Ryuji didn't relent his attacks. He swung and bashed on the monsters before he pulled his mace and glowed yellow then swung it upwards then downwards, destroying the monsters.

Ryuji's was about to rush to his party members aid but each of them were delivering their final blows to the last of their enemies.

Diavel with his sword.

Shark with his cutlass.

Katon with her dagger.

Darien with his Hammer.

"Thank you so much!" The quest giver expressed his gratitude.

However, this time, he immediately worked on filling the buckets he had with him with water from the river.

"At least he has his priorities straight." Ryuji commented.

"That he does." The other party members chuckled.

* * *

Ryuji couldn't believe his eyes when he witnessed the quest giver carry four buckets with water all by himself.

Sure he was wobbling as he walked but the fact of the matter was that he was carrying them all by himself.

"H-hey, would you like some help?" Ryuji asked the quest giver.

"Oh thank you!" The quest giver thanked Ryuji and gave him two buckets of water to carry. "You're such sweetheart." He praised before leading the group outside of the forest.

"You really can't help yourself, can you Rairyu?" Diavel chuckled. "Helping others is in your nature." He observed.

"Shaddap!" Ryuji pouted. "It's the right thing to do." He reasoned as he blushed

"That it is." Katon grinned. "Look at him blush." He chuckled as the rest of the party gave out a hearty laugh at his reactions.

* * *

As the party and the quest giver exited the forest they talked idly as they continued their journey back to the town of Medai.

Suddenly, something descended from the sky and targeted the people who were carrying two buckets of water – Ryuji and the quest giver.

As that something descended rapidly, Darien immediately pushed Ryuji out of the way, getting himself and the quest giver captured by that Unidentified Flying Monster.

"Get back here!" Ryuji yelled

The mace wielder grabbed hold of his weapon, activated its skill, and threw it towards the flying monster.

But it fell towards the ground, failing to reach the intended target.

"Come back!" Ryuji growled as he dashed towards his weapon.

"Rairyu!" Diavel called out. "Pull yourself together!"

"Dude! That monster just took Darien with it!" Ryuji exclaimed. "We need to get him back!"

"Calm down." Katon reiterated Diavel's order. "Just calm down."

"It's part of the quest." Shark informed. "Remember?"

Katon, Diavel and Shark looked at each other, wondering the extremeness of Ryuji's reactions.

"P-part of the quest." Ryuji repeated Shark's words. "Part of the quest." He stared once again as he calmed himself down." Right, part of the quest."

Ryuji shook his head as he repeated Shark's words over and over again as he calmed down from his outburst. Somehow, he forgot about everything and his mind went back to when everything was about the Phantom Thieves: Their capture in Kamoshida's palace, Makoto recklessly turned herself into bait to infiltrate Kaneshiro's palace, Ren's capture under Shido's orders, everything.

His mind even wandered on Zenkichi's arrest a few months back.

"S-sorry." Ryuji apologized." The monster was gunning for me and Darrien took my place." He bowed before the other three in remorse.

"It's okay." Diavel nodded. "It's one of the reason why we stopped you earlier." He explained. "This quest really needs a party."

"It should've been me." Ryuji muttered to himself.

"No, Rairyu." Katon interjected. "The four of us had done this quest a few times." She shared. "The four of us have already experienced what it's like to be captured by the monster." She admitted. "Like we said, this quest really needed party members to bail both the captured quest giver and party member."

"If you had gone solo, like others before you, you'd have a hard time defeating the boss." Diavel added in. "Others before you escaped with more or less 10 hp left, failing the quest, while some were not so fortunate." He continued somberly.

Ryuji wanted to interject when a rich-looking woman came running towards them.

"Please save my son!" The woman knelt before them. "He was just fetching some water for the family." She explained.

"Where was your son taken Ma'am?" Diavel inquired.

"I just saw my son on the talons of the Swinebell." The mother answered. "He's probably taken to its nest."

"Swinebell?" Ryuji inquired.

"A high level boss monster found in the first floor." Shark whispered. "Some have taken to calling it The Mosquito-Pig monster." He explained. "The boss for this quest."

"Wait really?" Ryuji managed to blurt out. "We need to get there now!" He exclaimed as he made a mad dash towards a random direction.

"Do you even know where the nest is?" Katon asked.

Ryuji stopped dead on his tracks as he realized that he doesn't have an answer to the question.

"You're the reckless type, aren't you?" Shark shook his head.

"Where do you reckon its nest is located ma'am?" Diavel asked the quest giver's mother.

"Up on that hill." The woman pointed at a nearby hill. "Please you just have to save my son!"

As soon as the woman's spiel was done, a window appeared before Ryuji notifying him that the quest has been updated.

With the update, Ryuji knew of the location of the Swinebell's nest by way of the mark on his over world map.

"It's the same location as the first time we did the quest." Katon pointed out. "This should be a piece of cake."

"Don't be so sure." Shark immediately cut off Katon's train of thought. "The quest update, also updated our maps and marked out-of-bounds places." He continued. "Not to mention there seems to be a landslide that occurred on our usual hillside route." He added.

"Crud."

"Looks like we'll be going a new way then." Diavel shrugged. "Should serve as an experience." He chuckled.


End file.
